Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said: “There has been a catalogue of problems at the MoD in recent months. The contrast between the professionalism of our troops and the incompetence of the MoD grows by the day.”

But Ainsworth countered: “We have just announced a 2.6% pay rise for the Armed Forces. For over a year now, our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have been receiving a £2,320 tax-free operational bonus for every six-month tour, and we have also announced a 25% discount on council tax for all those serving overseas from April this year. We anticipate investing more than £5bn in accommodation over the next decade.

“These measures among others show our commitment to being a good employer. There are challenges in maintaining manning levels and shortages in some specific areas remain. We are taking action to address the effects of this by improving recruitment and retention, and restructuring our Forces to focus effort in those areas in most demand.”